The Project X

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Continuing on with Yamahas Yard Build series, we were chosen to develop their next bike, the platform was the new Yamaha XJR1300

For Deus the Yamaha XJR1300 was an intriguing machine to work with. We looked at it and thought ‘what lies hidden under the skin of this muscle bike?’. We drew inspiration from the legendary endurance racing machines of the late 1970s and 1980s with their lean looks that were crafted for a single purpose – to win races. We decided we needed to liberate some of the XJR’s weight to create a stripped down motorcycle that proudly displayed its heart – the 1251cc air-cooled engine – and looked ready to fight!

When we started to remove the XJR’s bodywork and road ancillaries we noticed that it had a very aggressive stance – like a bulldog with big shoulders. We decided to emphasize this impression by fitting wider bars and then hand fashioning our own bodywork out of sheet aluminium. Together with Luca Viglio, Filippo Bassoli and our team of motorcycle customisers we spent many hours perfecting the look of the bike, beating the tank, side covers and cowl into the perfect shape that best shows off the XJR’s new svelte physique. Then, when we were totally happy with its new attitude, we used a very special paint treatment on the metal.